Expression patterns of cysteine peptidase genes across the Tribolium castaneum life cycle provide clues to biological function

PeerJ

article

Lindsey Perkin¹  Elena N. Elpidina²  Brenda Oppert¹ 

[1] Center for Grain and Animal Health Research, USDA, Agricultural Research Service;A. N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Moscow State University

关键词: Transcriptome;    Tribolium castaneum;    Tenebrionid digestion;    Gene expression across life stages;    Cysteine peptidase;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.1581

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

The red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, is a major agricultural pest responsible for considerable loss of stored grain and cereal products worldwide. T. castaneum larvae have a highly compartmentalized gut, with cysteine peptidases mostly in the acidic anterior part of the midgut that are critical to the early stages of food digestion. In previous studies, we described 26 putative cysteine peptidase genes in T. castaneum (types B, L, O, F, and K) located mostly on chromosomes 3, 7, 8, and 10. In the present study, we hypothesized that specific cysteine peptidase genes could be associated with digestive functions for food processing based on comparison of gene expression profiles in different developmental stages, feeding and non-feeding. RNA-Seq was used to determine the relative expression of cysteine peptidase genes among four major developmental stages (egg, larvae, pupae, and adult) of T. castaneum. We also compared cysteine peptidase genes in T. castaneum to those in other model insects and coleopteran pests. By combining transcriptome expression, phylogenetic comparisons, response to dietary inhibitors, and other existing data, we identified key cysteine peptidases that T. castaneum larvae and adults use for food digestion, and thus new potential targets for biologically-based control products.

【 授权许可】

CC BY